Celebrity Endorsements for the Voice Meant Nothing, But Told Us a Lot

The day after winning their third NRL Grand Final in a row, Penrith captain Nathan Cleary made a video urging people to vote ‘Yes’ for an Indigenous Voice to Parliament.

In the short video he simply said …

“No Voice, no choice. Come on Australia. Vote ‘Yes’”

At time the time, ‘Yes’ campaigners described Clearly’s contribution as “huge”.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was quick to post Cleary’s endorsement on his socials.

“It’s a ‘Yes’ from Nathan Cleary. Voting ‘Yes’. What a deadset legend” the PM wrote.

Here was a sporting icon - who had not only led his team to a third consecutive premiership but who had won the Clive Churchill Medal for best on ground while doing it - lending his weight to the Voice.

But we now know, if we didn’t already, that celebrity endorsements don’t sway votes.

When it came to Saturday, only 3800 people wrote ‘Yes’ on their ballot at the Penrith Panthers Leagues Club. Almost 10,000 people voted ‘No’ at that voting booth.

The electorate of Lindsay, which is Penrith Panthers heartland, recorded a ‘Yes’ vote of just 30.6 per cent. The ‘No’ vote was 69.4 per cent.

It’s almost like footy fans in the West of Sydney were smart enough to differentiate between a man’s footballing ability and his expertise in constitutional law.

The ‘Yes’ campaign thought that most Australians were so simple minded they could guarantee their support by simply reminding them that John Farnham once sang a song called “You’re the Voice”.

They rolled out an endless stream of celebrities endorsing the Voice - from sporting heroes to movie stars.

But not only did celebrity endorsements fail to convince Australians, they may actually have turned the voting public off.

The idea that we would vote ‘Yes’ simply because someone whose record we once bought was voting ‘Yes’ was insulting and demeaning.

The ‘Yes’ campaign’s tactics made clear what they thought of the Australian public.

Joe Public is so profoundly stupid that if the Penrith Panthers football captain says “Come on Australia. Vote ‘Yes’” then they will.

The ‘Yes’ campaign didn’t even care that what Cleary said made no sense.

“No Voice, No Choice”

What does that even mean?

Well, it meant less than nothing in terms of a reason to vote for a constitutionally enshrined Indigenous Voice to Parliament.

But it meant a great deal in terms of what it said about the way the cultural elite view the average Australian.

And boy were they wrong.